The seven deadly rings
by Kaito Ikari
Summary: Seven. A number as magical as can be. Such a description is not uncommon in a world such as Eternis, a land unaware of Grima, Dark Dragon more dragons. However, even a land as isolated as them can be forced to undergo dark times. However much you wish for safety, it may never be. Nathan, a young boy infamous for his ferociousness. His life changes forever upon meeting Katia of Lux.
1. Chapter 1

**Past**

Birds were chirping. The wind was blowing around his ears when he jumped down his tree. The soft pressure of his landing managed to wake his prey.

Nathan's sharp eyes followed the trail of the escaping beast, a wolf. It appeared to be running into a clearing, high green trees soon swallowing it. Nathan clutched his wooden bow tight, feeling its withered wood. He'll need to replace it soon. He drew the bow, his eyes narrowing.

The world seemed to shimmer, only the grey wolf as a tiny spot remained clear.

He let go.

He could hear the arrow's shrill flight route and soon enough, an ear shattering wail was audible.

Nathan brushed his purple hair out of his face and smirked, scratching a line into the nearest oak which already has several others engraved on its trunk.

"Number thirty-seven",muttered Nathan and started to walk happily towards his fallen prey. He won't be getting hungry tonight.

Unless...

"Get the hell out of here!",yelled Nathan in anger.

Once again, a hated face shouldered the wolf.

"Sorry, won't do",said the guy, identifiable as one of Sacrum's officers.

"Taxes and all."

He wore a white robe with a high golden collar, easily identifiable as a Sacramian. He even has a tag pretty much shouting "High Rank" on his chest.

Face contorted in anger, Nathan's finger drew his bow again.

He almost shot, but instead was blown away to smack into a tree, feeling the bork scratching into his only shirt.

"Remember, only one more warning",grinned the Sacramian and walked off.

Nathan tried to stand up and probably beat up his cocky smirk, but he was paralyzed. Again. He silently counted to a hundred and moved his limbs, feeling them not numb anymore.

He sighed and looked around.

Birds chirped as the falling sun colored the sky orange. He looked into a nearby river, seeing himself for the first time in months.

A ripped white shirt and brown shorts. His entire arm was covered in scars from his first time on the hunt. The same applies to his face. He thought of the officer and his face changed in silent white fury. He looked almost like the wolf he just slayed.

Shaking his head to put up his neutral face again,starting to trek home. As he left the woods and entered the desert, he felt a sting of sadness. The forest Sahara was his only escape from Sahat's rowdy lifestyle. Nathan looked back, seeing the forest grow smaller and smaller.

Soon enough, his feet touched concrete. He has entered one of Sahat's towns, Strinna.

"Avoid eye contact, avoid eye contact, avoid...",muttered Nathan over and over, keeping his eyes on the ground. In Strinna, eye contact was like a challenge to battle.

He doesn't need to see the broken buildings anyways. He doesn't need to see people's fiery gazes on his back on his way. He's seen enough of that.

Finally his feet stopped as he stood before what one might call a big tent. He called it his second home and HQ.

He entered it and looked around. There was nothing but a furnace and a bed, both grey in color. Nathan balled his fist and tried to ignore his stomach's rumbling. He lied down on his rock hard bed and closed his eyes. Just as he felt the start of a fitful sleep, his ears picked up shouting on the outside. Growling, he turned, but the noise grew louder, even the sound of someone crashing into concrete. Nathan sighed and stood up, peeking through his home's opening.

He could see a burly man standing around shouting obscenities at something he couldn't see. Soon enough, a fireball hit him straight on, him flinching, taking a few steps back.

"Please, I am just on my way through. Although, I assure you that the style of fighting you are having is not neccesarily the most effective. If I had the time, I would lecture you about proper posture",said a cynical female voice calmly.

Footsteps leaving the vicinity was the only thing in the deadbeat silence that followed.

Nathan finally peeked his head out and in the distance he could see someone with black and red robes and red hair, putting on a mage's hat, glasses glaring in the dusk.

Nathan shook his head and retreated back home. Figures.

He tried to get back to sleep, but a shrill female scream almost pierced his ears.

Slowly, he snuck outside, seeing white robes and black hair, being grabbed by the man who apparently wasn't burnt enough. He almost wanted to ignore the girl, but his instincts told him otherwise.

The girl didn't seem to be much older than him, around ten of age. Her purple eyes reminded him of his own.

Once the Sahatian man slapped her and Nathan saw red. He grabbed his bow and snuck into an alley, a perfect vantage point.

He drew the boy and pierced the Sahatian's hand, causing him to drop the girl. However, he did the mistake of a victory shout.

The burly Sahatian walked towards him, too fast. He had curly black hair and the face of a barbarian. Nathan hastily drew his bow but the man grabbed him by the throat, cutting of his air. He trashed around, his vision darkening. But there's more.

Nathan's body grew warmer, too warm. It felt like his very heart was set on fire, burning him from within.

He tried to scream, but he couldn't.

His skin started to peel off, he could feel it. He's going to die. He's going to die. He's dying.

Somehow, the pressure around his neck left. Nathan fell.

His vision kept on darkening. He could only see the girl removing a lance from the man's head and looking concerned at Nathan.

"I...saved you...cutie",was all what Nathan managed to say, before darkness claimed him.

Nathan died that day.

 _Hello everybody. You do not know, but I have been working on this story for quite some time now. It already has a few chapter, and I will also be doing a mini-series on worldbuilding of this new land. You may call it my... passion project._


	2. Chapter 2

As fast as friendships are forged, just as fast they can break. For everything is made of glass, fragile and breakable. Handle them with care.

 **Shattered dreams**

It's been ten years since he died. It wasn't meant in a mortality way though. He died. And became we.

That's what Nathan thought as he glanced at the still sleeping form of Katia. She had grown so pretty...

Nathan shook his head and stepped out of his tent, the armor on his body resounding metallically with every step.

Katia sure was amazing. Not only was she cute, she was also quite efficient with magic, particularly rune magic. Nathan didn't even know that kind of magic existed, and if it did, it was probably extinct. Katia was able to use magic unknown to him and that is indeed a feat, considering the fact that Nathan liked to raid the local library every now and then. She used that magic to apply a healing rune to a piece of armor in order to heal his terrible burns. The process was slow, but efficient.

The sound of hammers filled the air, just as usual. It's been a few days since a redhead merchant by the name of Anna decided to set up a tavern here. Why she chose such a boring ol' town was beyond him, but if there's a way to get good food, that's fine. The merchant in question was encouraging the workers, who already built quite the foundation of wood. It's quite an odd sight, seeing a merchant dressed in red, lying casually on a bank, holding orange juice, shouting at workers sweating under the burning sun. Not to forget, she had shaded glasses.

Shaking his head at the scene, Nathan walked back into his tent, shaking Katia awake. Time for their usual sparring match in the morning.

Their battleground was a patch of meadow in front of the city. Nathan carved a circle into the ground with a scyte a few years ago. The rules are simple. Whoever gets pushed out of the circle loses.

Katia tied her black hair into a ponytail and smirked at Nathan, readying her iron lance. Nathan himself removed his sword from his sheath, getting ready for the first assault.

But before any kind of attack could happen, a dog's bark could be heard in the distance.

"Huh?",said Katia and Nathan in unison.

A brown, furry dog yapped in the direction of Katia, the girl tilting her head in confusion. Nathan had the same questioning look. Nobody ever wrote them. Heck, nobody even knew their names!

Katia carefully removed the letter from the dog's leg and gave him a little pat. The dog barked and ran away. How odd, truly.

Katia ripped the letter into pieces.

"What the-",started Nathan, only to see the letter repair itself.

Katia had a horrified look on her face as the letter suddenly started to speak in a soft female voice.

...

...

...

Nathan couldn't believe it. The voice told Katia her mother, THE QUEEN OF SACRUM, was sick and thus can't participate in the upcoming tournament. Now it falls to Katia to represent Sacrum.

Nathan wanted to cry.

He probably did.

Katia noticed her friend's shaking body, an unmistakable rattling of metal.

"Nate?",she asked softly.

Only to throw up a shield of light at Nathan's assault.

"SO IT'S TRUE!",screamed Nathan, holding his sword tight, tears streaming down on his armored face.

"N-no!",exclaimed Katia, tears streaming down on her own face.

"No!"

Nathan didn't want to hear anymore lies. He kept on assaulting the shield with his sword, feeling satisfaction at the sound of glass breaking.

And thus, Katia's shield broke, Nathan went to decapitate his only friend.

Only to drop his sword and throw his helmet away. He could feel the heat of the burns returning to his face, but he couldn't care less.

"W-why?!"screamed Nathan in disbelief, a familiar scene replaying in his head.

There were happy times before all that. People remarked the cuteness of Nathan and his big sister Marie. They were inseperable, the sixteen year old girl and six year old boy. But whispers started soon enough. And everybody told themselves that demon girl deserved to die. And who could better perform an execution than a harbringer of light? Nathan, the poor boy. Being together with such a demon. It really did need to be decapitated. Nobody asked about Nathan after that, seeing as he left his home, the head of a girl in his bag. The same head that was stolen by bandits, thinking it had something of wealth inside. The bandits with the white cloak. And their leader, a man named Liam. A high ranking officer in Sacrum...


	3. Chapter 3

**Darkness consumes even the best of us. Be it white, black...or purple.**

 **Team Death(c)law**

Katia ran away from her broken friend, desperately trying to wipe her tears away. She knew this would happen and so she tried her hardest to keep it secret. But now her mother ruined her one shot of a friend, just as she ruined her whole life only because she couldn't keep it in her pants.

Katia was a bastard child and still is. Born to the Queen of Sacrum and a lowlife commoner of Shamac, she had been hated as far as she can remember. Her father was sentenced to death shortly after her birth, his head decaying in the trash where it belongs.

Nathan...

Looking sadly back to the broken boy, she shook her head and tried to run, failing miserably. It was also his sixteenth birthday...

And as such, she drowned her sorrows together with the merchant Anna, whose tavern is close to completion. The merchant picked the girl up and offered her a drink on the house, a rarity for such a greedy redhead.

"So, what's the matter?",asked Anna in the tavern without roof.

Katia sighed and pushed her beverage away, having no intention of getting drunk.

"It's just a friend. He found out about a secret of mine."

Anna nodded understandingly, despite the fact she probably doesn't.

But before she could say anything...

"WHERE IS HE?!"

The booming male voice shook even the foundation of the tavern.

People started closing their windows out of fear of the voice.

Katia ran outside and hid at the side of a house.

She peeked and could barely make out some kind of red clothing.

She readied her lance and was about to charge, but a hand covered her mouth and dragged her deeper into the alley.

She tried to free herself, but she felt somewhat...powerless. She couldn't even make out her captor.

Finally, in the deepest part of the alley, the hand removed itself from her mouth.

Gasping for air, she took a good look at the man, no, boy who dragged her away.

He had dark blue hair and wore what could only be described as warrior's wear, complete with axe and bow.

"Are you insane?!",asked the boy, gasping.

"If you see Team Deathclaw, you run."

"Wh-who are you?",asked Katia hesitantly.

"I'm Shaun-dell",replied the boy, throwing a look on its shoulder and nodding, as if conversing with an invisible being.

A scream cut through the air, shocking the pair.

It was not a scream of anguish, rather it was one of fury.

Hurrying out of the alley, Katia gasped at the sight.

Nathan was putting up a fight against six people, each wearing a mono-colored robe with an insignia on their back, representing a nation each.

"LIAM!",screamed Nathan and pounced on the Sacramian.

It was a massacre. People of the town were slain in horrifying ways that only the sickest minds could imagine. Burnt, their soul ripped out, completely sucked of all liquid, buried alive and disintegrated. And those were only the people caught in the crossfire. The combatants themselves are worse off. Some lost limbs, some an eye. Liam himself was missing a leg and an arm, torn off by a furious and crazed Nathan. And Katia?

She was hiding behind a powerful wall of light, assisted by Shaun-dell who powered her shield with some kind of silver energy pouring from his eyes. There was no time to question the power of her new aquaintance, as the battle raging in front of their eyes was no mere squabble. Katia was in shock, seeing her home torn into shreds, the same happening to Anna who tried valiantly to fight back. Alas, to no avail.

"Your sis' was easier to fight",said the hulk of a man wearing red Sahat robes.

"But I'm all for a challenge!"

With a roar, he charged at Nathan much like a bull would.

With a slice of a sword, the man's head rolled. His allies didn't seem to be fazed, continuously shooting magic at Nathan. It was useless, seeing at Nathan's armor protected him from all magic attacks.

Up until the hooded Shamac mage shot a curse identifiable as Gleipnir at him.

Time seemed to move in slow motion. The dark ball of energy slowly moved towards Nathan who was too slow to react. Katia's mouth opened in a silent scream. Liam smiled in satisfaction. Shaun-dell...

Shaun-dell cursed in normal speed, watching the slow event unfold before his eyes.

"So soon...",he muttered and formed a circle with his hands.

It's been ten years since he died. It wasn't meant in a mortality way though. He died. And became we.

That's what Nathan thought as he glanced at the still sleeping form of Katia. She had grown so pretty...

Nathan shook his head and stepped out of his tent, the armor on his body resounding metallically with every step.

Katia sure was amazing. Not only was she cute, she was also quite efficient with magic, particularly rune magic. Nathan didn't even know that kind of magic existed, and if it did, it was probably extinct. Katia was able to use magic unknown to him and that is indeed a feat, considering the fact that Nathan liked to raid the local library every now and then. She used that magic to apply a healing rune to a piece of armor in order to heal his terrible burns. The process was slow, but efficient.

The sound of hammers filled the air, just as usual. It's been a few days since a redhead merchant by the name of Anna decided to set up a tavern here. Why she chose such a boring ol' town was beyond him, but if there's a way to get good food, that's fine. The merchant in question was encouraging the workers, who already built quite the foundation of wood. It's quite an odd sight, seeing a merchant dressed in red, lying casually on a bank, holding orange juice, shouting at workers sweating under the burning sun. Not to forget, she had shaded glasses.

Shaking his head at the scene, Nathan walked back into his tent, shaking Katia awake. Time for their usual sparring match in the morning.

Their battleground was a patch of meadow in front of the city. Nathan carved a circle into the ground with a scyte a few years ago. The rules are simple. Whoever gets pushed out of the circle loses.

Katia tied her black hair into a ponytail and smirked at Nathan, readying her iron lance. Nathan himself removed his sword from his sheath, getting ready for the first assault.

But before any kind of attack could happen, a dog's bark could be heard in the distance.

"Huh?",made Katia and Nathan in unison.

But soon enough, the bark vanished. Shrugging, the two went on training, watched by a pair of silver eyes in the distance.


End file.
